Troubleshooting Web Hosting: Solutions to Common Issues You Might Face
You probably want a website to showcase your work, whether you’re an enthusiast, small business owner, or entrepreneur. After all, it’s 2024. Luckily, getting started with one of the top web hosting companies is pretty easy. How to Handle web hosting issues that arise when managing your website is the difficult part.
We’re here to help, so don’t worry. We have been supporting individuals in setting up and managing websites more intelligently for over ten years, so we are well-versed in fixing poor load times and knowing what to do when shared hosting plans become too small for you.
Our professional guidance is supported not only by a group of investigators but also by the time and money we invested in building our websites, which date back to the era of GeoCities.
We know you can’t afford for your website to be down, which is why you need to take quick action if you run into issues with hosting your website. Ranking high on Google is especially important for businesses, and a sluggish website with frequent outages is not going to impress Google.
Continue reading to learn about the most frequent web hosting problems and how to resolve them right now.
The 6 Most Common Web Hosting Issues in 2024: What to Watch Out For
Although web hosting has its own set of difficulties, it is a necessary part of any online presence. In 2024, the web hosting industry is still changing, bringing with it new issues and increasing existing ones.
According to our most recent research, the following are now the most typical issues with web hosting:
- Server Errors and Downtime
- Slow Speeds of Loading
- Safety and PCI Compliance
- Shared hosting and heavy traffic despite scarce resources
- Lack of Help and Support
- Rising Cost of Hosting
To learn more about each of these problems and some of the simplest fixes to keep your website up and running, scroll down.
1: Server Errors and Downtime: Understanding the Impact on Your Website
Everyone has experienced this: you believe you’ve found the article that would help them win the office fantasy league the next season, but when you click the link, all you get is a 503 error, which is server jargon meaning the page or website you’re trying to access not being available.
This is commonly referred to as “downtime” and it is a complete disaster for building your website’s credibility with both Google’s algorithm and your target audience.
How to handle it:
Selecting a web hosting company with a high uptime rating is the simplest way to minimize downtime. While choosing the best web hosting provider might seem challenging, many of the top candidates in our evaluation boast above 99.9% uptime. See a more comprehensive guide of uptime standards for different data centers and it’s tiers and how they impact your hosting choice.
Thankfully, Arz Host has been identified by our customers as the finest web hosting service for uptime, mostly because of its unconditional uptime guarantee. There’s an important compensation plan that offers a day of free service for every hour when there is downtime. With a solid 4.8 out of 5 overall rating from our extensive research, it’s a high-quality option overall.
You must ensure that you closely check your uptime, regardless of the supplier you choose. Even if uptime monitoring may not be enabled by default, it’s still worthwhile to check into it as all of the providers we suggest offer it.
When enabled, you will be able to view the statistics specific to your site, and, depending on your provider, you may even be able to set up notifications to notify you when there is any downtime. For example, once activated, ARZ Host provides all the necessary information in a single dashboard.
2: Slow Loading Speeds: How Performance Issues Affect User Experience
A slow website is the only thing that is worse than one that is offline. If your visitors can’t find what they’re looking for promptly, they’ll leave your website. Visitor dislike of slow-loading websites is evident from statistics on website load times.
People who leave your website quickly also add to a low “bounce rate” in Google’s view, which can have an impact on your site’s ranking. Of course, once they’re gone, so is your prospective sale or lead.
How to Handle It:
Image optimization can be easy fix for speed optimization if you find that your website loads more slowly than a tram going upward. Image optimization can significantly improve the functionality of your website!
To guarantee that the images on your website load rapidly on the user’s screen, make sure the image files are small. For e-commerce websites, which probably store more photographs than others, this is especially crucial.
ARZ Host advises that each image should have a maximum size of 20MB and an optimal size of no more than 500KB. We advise that to do this, you make sure the image dimensions are maintained at 640 x 320 pixels for mobile devices and between 1500 and 2500 pixels for desktops.
To accomplish this, you don’t even need to pay a Photoshop wizard: Two excellent free internet applications that can aid with image scaling are Kraken.io and Optimizilla. To make sure that every image you want to add to your website is appropriately resized before it is published, you can also install a WordPress plugin like Smush or Imagify.
Generally speaking, original photos can be reduced to 80% quality without sacrificing high-definition standards.
WP Rocket’s Lazy Load is another highly recommended plugin. This brilliant tool allows your website to prioritize the images it loads to increase performance by telling it to wait to load them until the user is closer to the area of the page they are appearing in.
Finally, make sure you’re using the most recent version of the program (WordPress, for example) that powers your website. This will assist in making sure that issues aren’t affecting the functionality of your website.
3: Safety and PCI Compliance: Ensuring Your Hosting Meets Security Standards
Your website’s success depends critically on its security. A security compromise can have adverse effects, especially for e-commerce enterprises. Malware or hits can hurt your organization by reducing client trust and causing lost earnings, customer data loss, website downtime, and significant time and financial losses.
Although website security can be puzzling, there are a few easy steps you can take to protect your website and reduce your vulnerability to online fraud.
How to Handle It:
Choosing a web hosting company with a strong security policy should be your first step. ARZ Host is the finest web hosting company for security, according to our results, so if you do nothing else, make sure you consider switching to them as your provider.
Verifying that an SSL certificate has been installed is another quick and simple way to help secure sensitive data traveling through your website, including login and payment information.
Beyond this, every website that hopes to engage in e-commerce must learn about the complex realm of PCI compliance. To protect cardholder data on any website where it is shared, PCI, or the full name of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, is a necessary set of severe security mechanisms.
Using a website builder like Wix or Shopify is the simplest way to avoid this since they handle the difficult task of being PCI compliant for you. BigCommerce, for example, recently went through third-party audits to earn ISO 27701 and 22301 certifications, saving you the trouble!
Using a third-party payment processor like PayPal or Stripe is an additional choice. Though they also take a share of the transaction in exchange for facilitating the sale, the well-known suppliers all take care of PCI compliance for you.
E-commerce plugins are useful because they may not be suitable for all users. E-commerce plugins for WordPress are made to execute some of the labor-intensive work for you and your website, just like other plugins.
4: Shared Hosting and Heavy Traffic: Managing Resource Limitations
Since shared hosting is the least expensive option for getting your website online, many people choose to launch their new website on one of these plans. It is the most limited, though, which can become an issue if traffic volume increases enough. Your site may have exceeded its hosting plan if it is crashing or lagging!
Scalability is essential, and as your company expands, you may discover that shared hosting solutions are unable to handle the heavy traffic levels you are receiving.
How to Handle It:
When this occurs, it’s time to move on to a more sophisticated hosting package. Dedicated server hosting may be necessary if you require additional room for expansion beyond what shared hosting can offer. At this point, your website effectively contracts a server to itself, allowing you to avoid exceeding your bandwidth limitation.
Among the several choices, ARZ Host stands out as the best. Unexpectedly, WordPress recommends our top-ranked web hosting for dedicated servers as well. It’s also the greatest option for purchasing one. Not only is it incredibly affordable, but you also get amazing RAM and CPU performance for your money. With a rating of 4.7 out of 5, it is the clear choice for handling limited resources as and when they arise on your website.
Choose a host of your choice, but make sure your new plan includes the tools required to maintain your website. For example, your plan should have more bandwidth if your existing one is having trouble with high volumes of traffic.
5: Lack of Help and Support: The Importance of Responsive Customer Service
It’s not always easy to run a website, so you should choose a hosting company that will provide you with high-quality support when things don’t go as imagined. To be more precise, you should choose a provider that provides email support requests, live web chat, 24/7 support, and other essential help services in case something doesn’t go as planned.
On the other hand, you can feel alone when attempting to handle technological problems if you can’t get in touch with your web host if its help center is an empty desert of out-of-date manuals, or if queries you post on the forum go unanswered for years.
Not to mention what it means for your company if you are unable to resolve other problems or downtime, this may be rather difficult!
How to Handle It:
The easy fix if your provider frustrates you is to move.
With a near-perfect support score of 4.8 out of 5 for shared and WordPress hosting and 4.9 for dedicated hosting, ARZ Host is the clear choice for a provider that goes above and beyond with help and support out of all the available options.
6: Rising Cost of Hosting: Balancing Budget and Quality
Even if it can be necessary, having a website for your company is not cheap. Web hosting fees can rise rapidly, and even with promises of “from just $1.99 a month,” the actual cost comes closer to $100. In the FAQs below, we go over why this occurs so frequently!
Your expenses must be reasonable to prevent your web hosting from depleting your earnings or becoming unaffordable. Although it’s a significant investment, your website shouldn’t cost more than you can afford.
How To Handle It:
One of the top shared web hosting packages is a good place to start if you want to keep prices down. Because you’re sharing server space with other websites, these offer far more affordable options than dedicated hosting companies.
While it might not be appropriate for all huge organizations, it is more than sufficient for individuals and small businesses.
It may be wise to move web hosts if you are aware that your website is too large for a low-cost shared plan. When you switch website hosting providers, you’ll likely pay new, introductory rates for the first term. However, by looking around, you might be able to locate better offers.
Check out our list of the top affordable web hosting companies!
Do You Have Issues Keeping Your Website Hosted? Solutions and Strategies
It can be attractive to host your website. Everything about your hosting setup may be customized, including software updates, settings, hardware selection, and performance management. You have complete control over your setup.
However, you must possess a high level of technical competence to benefit from hosting your website.
It’s no easy task—you and your team will be responsible for everything from hardware upgrades to website updates, performance monitoring, and security control installation. It’s a costly task even with the right staff because enterprise-grade servers are not inexpensive.
For website owners, hosting difficulties can be a major obstacle, but they can be reduced with suitable strategies and a trustworthy hosting company. Select a hosting option that can accommodate your website’s growth and performance requirements, always keeping in mind the needs of your website. You can keep up a steady and effective internet presence by being proactive and watchful.
Conclusion: Addressing Web Hosting Problems and Finding the Right Solutions
Not only is maintaining a website satisfying, but it’s also necessary to succeed in the modern digital world. But things aren’t always easy-going. You’re not alone if you experience security concerns, slow load times, or expensive hosting fees; we’ve put together some solutions to give you peace of mind in handling the issues you run into.
A summary of the typical problems and potential fixes we have discussed is as follows:
- Go with a web host that offers a high uptime guarantee to avoid downtime and server errors.
- Slow loading times can be avoided by optimizing files and images, installing plugins like WP Rocket’s Lazy Load, and checking for updates.
- Installing SSL, monitoring your suppliers’ security protocols, and using a third-party plugin or provider that handles PCI compliance are all good ways to ensure security and PCI compliance.
- Limited Resources? Upgrade to dedicated or VPS hosting.
- Lack of Assistance and Support: Move to a web host that offers comprehensive, round-the-clock assistance.
- Cost: To take full advantage of low starting pricing, look into a cheap shared plan if your website permits it, or search around for a different web host.
While we don’t claim that these are the only steps you can take to address these typical web hosting issues, they are an excellent place to start.
Tell us in the comments what issues you’ve had with web hosting and how you resolved them!
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
1: What should I do if my website is down?
When your website is down, the first step is to determine the scope of the issue. Check if the problem is widespread by using online tools like Down Detector or IsItDownRightNow.
If the issue is confirmed, contact your web hosting provider immediately to report the downtime. Most reputable hosts offer 24/7 support, so utilize their customer service channels such as live chat, phone, or email.
It’s also essential to have a backup of your website to ensure you can quickly restore it if necessary. Regularly scheduled backups can prevent significant data loss and minimize downtime.
2: How can I resolve slow website performance?
Slow website performance can stem from various factors, including server issues, excessive traffic, or poorly optimized site elements. Start by analyzing your website’s speed using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix. These tools provide detailed reports on what might be causing the slowdown, such as large image files, excessive scripts, or server response times.
Optimize your site by compressing images, leveraging browser caching, and minimizing the use of heavy scripts. Additionally, consider upgrading your hosting plan if you’re experiencing high traffic that exceeds your current resources.
Sometimes, moving to a higher tier or a dedicated server can significantly improve performance.
3: What steps should I take if my website has been hacked?
If your website has been hacked, it is crucial to act swiftly to minimize damage. First, take your website offline to prevent further harm to visitors and data. Contact your web hosting provider for assistance; they often have tools and resources to help you clean your site.
Scan your website for malware using security plugins or external services like Sucuri or Wordfence. Restore your website from a clean backup if available. Change all passwords associated with your website and hosting account, and consider implementing additional security measures such as two-factor authentication and security plugins.
Finally, identify the vulnerability that led to the hack and address it to prevent future breaches.
4: How do I handle frequent server errors on my website?
Frequent server errors, such as 500 Internal Server Errors, can be frustrating and impact your website’s reliability. These errors often indicate issues with your hosting server or website code.
Start by checking your server logs for error messages that can help pinpoint the problem. Common causes include misconfigured files, exhausted memory limits, or issues with installed plugins or themes.
Contact your hosting provider for technical support, as they can offer insights and solutions tailored to their server environment. Ensure your website software, including CMS, plugins, and themes, is up to date. Regular maintenance and monitoring can help identify potential issues before they lead to frequent errors.
5: What can I do if I exceed my hosting plan’s resource limits?
Exceeding your hosting plan’s resource limits can lead to slow performance, downtime, or additional charges. To address this, monitor your resource usage regularly through your hosting control panel. If you find that you consistently exceed limits, consider optimizing your website to reduce resource consumption.
This can include optimizing images, caching static content, and minimizing the use of resource-heavy plugins. Additionally, evaluate your hosting plan to determine if an upgrade is necessary.
Moving to a plan with higher resource allocations or switching to a more scalable solution, like a Virtual Private Server (VPS) or dedicated hosting, can provide the necessary resources to support your website’s growth.
Read more:
- Sending Email with a Dedicated Server: Step-by-Step Guide
- When Should I Invest in a Dedicated Server? 5 Signs Your Website Needs
- What is Memcached, and How Does It Boost Website Performance?
- How to Send Mass Emails on a Dedicated Server: A Complete Guide
- How can we use a Dedicated Server for Email Marketing?
